Origen

Tempt goes back to Latin temptare ‘to test, try’, which is the sense in the expression tempt Providence. To be unwise enough to test Providence, or your luck, is to invite misfortune. In the Middle Ages temptation was particularly used in relation to the biblical story, in the Gospel of Matthew, of Jesus being tempted to sin by the Devil when he spent 40 days in the wilderness. Modern temptations are generally more trivial urges to indulge yourself. In 1892 Oscar Wilde wrote: ‘I can resist everything except temptation’ (Lady Windermere's Fan). Attempt (Late Middle English) is from the same root.